Low-caste Hindus adopt new faith

[Miraj]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stm

Low-caste Hindus adopt new faith

Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India at which hundreds of low-caste Hindus (Dalits) converted to Buddhism and Christianity.

The events in the central city of Nagpur are part of a protest against the injustices of India's caste system.

By converting, Dalits - once known as Untouchables - can escape the prejudice and discrimination they normally face.

The ceremonies mark the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Buddhism by the scholar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

He was the first prominent Dalit to urge low-caste Indians to embrace Buddhism.

As the chief architect of India's constitution, he wrote anti-discrimination provisions and quota systems into the country's law.

But four-fifths of India's Dalits live in often isolated rural areas, and traditional prejudice has persisted in spite of official laws.

'Cry for dignity'

The Dalits arrived by the truckload at a public park in Nagpur for ceremonies, which began with religious leaders giving fiery speeches against the treatment of lower castes.

Reuters reported that dozens of riot policemen had turned out at the sprawling park.

Udit Raj, a Dalit leader, told the BBC that around 2,500 people converted to Christianity and Buddhism.

Joseph D'Souza, the president of the Dalit Freedom Network and a Christian convert, described the conversions as a "celebratory occasion".

"I think it's important to understand that this is a cry for human dignity, it's a cry for human worth," he told the BBC.

He said that Dalits could seek dignity by converting to Christianity, Jainism or Sikhism as well as Buddhism.

Buddhist convert Dhammachari Manidhamma told the BBC that social equality was impossible within Hinduism.

"Buddha's teaching was for the humanity, and Buddha believed in equality.

"And Hindu religion, Hindu teaching is nothing but inequality.

Laws against conversion

Similar mass conversions are taking place this month in many other parts of India.

Several states governed by the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, have introduced laws to make such conversions more difficult.

The states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have all passed laws restricting conversions.

Gujarat has reclassified Buddhism and Jainism as branches of the Hindu religion, in an attempt to prevent conversions away from Hinduism eroding the BJP's bedrock support.

Hinduism teaches that most humans were created from parts of the body of the divinity Purusha.

According to which body parts they were created from, humans fall into four basic castes which define their social standing, who they can marry, and what jobs they can do.

But Dalits fall outside this system and are traditionally prevented from doing all but the most menial jobs or even drinking from the same water sources as other castes.

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I'm glad India is a tolerant enough country to allow a large swathe of its people to leave the dominant religion of the land. Good for the Dalits for taking matters into their own hands, sometimes you gotta just cut the gordian knot.

[Sétanta]

I agree. They have every right to do this, and particularly to adopt a new faith which will hopefully bring them happiness and a better life.

[vikrant]

anti chirst,relegion,islam
now is it somekind of anti hinduism thread ??

the movement of converting dalits was started by cofounder of indian constituion ,babasaheb ambedkar back in 50's
so this is not at all a new thing.
the condition of dalits from urban areas has changed drastically in last 50 yrs,they have been given reservations,concessions in all the systems {job,university,fees etc} by indian constitution.

but in rural areas their status has not changed effectively becasue of lack of awareness.
the leader which has been mentioned here is nothing playing political game .
he can easily inspire and encourage his followeres to take advantage of all the facilities government provides to them ,but instead he is leading them to different relegion ,they will not be able to utilize all the reservations and alll after that and they are unware of that.
but in urban areas or some other parts where education {awareness about their rights}has spread effectively no dalit will willingly covert in to any other religion.

[Miraj]

anti chirst,relegion,islam
now is it somekind of anti hinduism thread ??

No this isn't an anti-hinduism thread at all. If anything its a pro-hinduism thread. Its good to see that a large number of hindus can leave their faith without being captured and burned alive by their former co-religionists. Its a good lesson to Muslims.

But I agree that changing your religion and thinking your life will be changed is naive, immature and definitely not well thought out.

[Ummon]

I have nothing against Hindus and Hinduism. The thread author will have his own reasons, maybe information, maybe something else. You can but follow the thread and answer to his assertions to the best of his capacities, this will in any case be helpful.

[The Fish]

The idea that suddenly becoming a Christian or a Buddhist will change the lives of these converts is highly unlikely.
This is because the fools who oppress others in the name of caste are buying into a social construct, not a religious
one. Suddenly calling oneself a Buddhist one day will do nothing to change the minds of those people who feel themselves
socially priveledged. Indeed, thousands of Christian or Buddhist converts in India continue to keep their caste labels
because it affords them affirmative action-like benefits; this latest binge is basically a political game played to stock
vote banks. I also have to agree with Vikrant and wonder why it's such a big deal now. Missionaries have tried to exploit
the caste divide since colonial times; the fact that this latest psy-ops is such a big deal is more illustrative of good politics
than good policy. The equation of the SOCIAL evil that is caste oppression with the RELIGION that is Hinduism is another one of
those great colonial-era misconceptions that has entrenched itself into an intractable position within the modern psyche.